Arrests following alleged home invasions, carjackings in Sydney’s southwest
Two men on the run from the police following a spate of home invasions, carjackings and a high-speed crash in Sydney’s south west are suspected to be “armed and injured”. A full-scale search is under way for the men after two of their alleged accomplices were arrested.
NSW
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Two men have been arrested and two are on the run following a spate of home invasions, carjackings and a high-speed crash, where a stolen car caught on fire in Sydney’s south west today.
The alleged crime spree began when four men wearing balaclavas broke into a house on Francis St, Fairfield, about 7am.
A woman was assaulted in the house and then a man in a granny flat on the property was hit with an iron bar.
The group fled in a white Mercedes, and police said at 8.45am four balaclava-clad men stormed into a house on Anton Pl, Bonnyrigg, and threatened the people inside.
“Police have been told two of the men were armed with firearms and during the confrontation a round was discharged inside the house. It’s not believed anyone was injured,” NSW Police said in a statement.
The men fled again and a white Mercedes was seen driving at speeds of up to 200km/h along the M5 at Moorebank a short time later.
But as it approached the Moorebank Avenue off-ramp, the vehicle crashed into another car and caught alight.
Four masked men got out of the car and while two fled on foot, two others carjacked a grey Nissan Navara 4WD, which was found abandoned soon after at a service station on Newbridge Rd, Moorebank.
A yellow Holden Commodore was carjacked from that location at that time.
Police arrested two men, with one found on a roof at 8 Grevillea Cres, Prestons, and another discovered by police dogs under a classroom at Prestons Public School, on Kurrajong Rd, about 10.30am.
The man found at the school was taken to Liverpool Hospital for treatment.
Police are asking anyone from the public to phone triple-0 if they see a yellow 2010 model Holden Commodore, with NSW registration plates DAN-359.
The two men who are still on the run are strongly suspected to be armed and injured after the high-speed crash on the M5, according to NSW Police Chief Inspector Greg Tetley.
Detectives from Fairfield and Liverpool, State Crime Command and the Robbery and Serious Crime Squad are all searching for the armed men, who were last seen driving away in the Commodore.
“They tried to stop a number of vehicles by producing firearms,” Chief Inspector Tetley said.
“They were able to steal a Nissan. The occupants got out of that vehicle and did the right thing by letting them take the car and that car was dumped shortly after at the service station in Moorebank.
“It’s not worth your life, just let them take the car and call police.”
CCTV showed the dog squad tracked him down seven minutes later.
Police asked a neighbour, Paul, if they could use his stepladder to reach the alleged home invader.
“I heard choppers overhead but I thought they were army choppers so I didn’t think anything of it until I went outside and there were cop cars everywhere,” Paul, who requested his surname remain anonymous, said.
“The dog stopped at our fence and barked its head off, which is when the cops realised the bloke was on the roof.
“The police yelled ‘don’t f..king move’ and asked me for a step-ladder to get up there and grab him, but by the time I got the ladder from the garage they’d already brought him down.”
Earlier police arrested a man cowering under Prestons Public School.
According to Marwan Al Masri, who lives opposite the school on Box Rd in Prestons, 10 police cars descended on the quiet residential street at once.
“We saw a lot of police, they were here for an hour,” Mr Al Masri said.
“We saw heaps of (police) cars, more than 10.
“We saw a helicopter and then two policemen came with dogs and we were told to go and stay inside.”
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